"On the Alamo" is a 1922 composition by

Isham Jones Isham Edgar Jones (January 31, 1894 – October 19, 1956) was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter. Career Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, United States, to a musical and mining family. His father, Richard Isham Jones ...

, with lyrics by

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including "Pretty Baby", "Ain't We Got Fun?", "Carolina in the Morning", "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' By ...

(under the nom-de-guerre of Gilbert Keyes) and Joe Lyons. Jones and his Orchestra recorded it at Brunswick Studios in New York City in February without a vocalist, as was his custom at the time, and it was released as the b-side of "By the Sapphire Sea" on Brunswick 2245 in April. On March 17, a copyright was filed by Tell Taylor, Inc., of Chicago, Illinois, possibly the last song published by William 'Tell' Taylor, who sold his business to Forster Music Publisher, Inc., and retired to Ohio, where he bought a home for his parents. Unfortunately, 'Sapphire Sea' failed to make the charts, but by mid-Summer, 'On the Alamo' hit number 1 for four weeks., and finished as the 7th highest ranking single for 1922.

Notable versions

78 RPM A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...

*Isham Jones Orchestra - Brunswick 2245 (B-side of "By the Sapphire Sea"), April 1922 *

Benson Orchestra of Chicago The Benson Orchestra of Chicago was an American musical ensemble that was popular during the 1920s. Founded by Edgar A. Benson, its members at different times included saxophonist Frankie Trumbauer, drummer Gene Krupa, and pianists Roy Bargy and, ...

- Victor 18931-B (B-side of "Don't Bring Me Posies"), September 1922 *

Rudy Vallée Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, musician, actor, and radio host. He was one of the first modern pop stars of the teen idol type. Early life Hubert Prior Vall ...

and his Connecticut Yankees - Victor 22084 (B-side of "Do You Love Me?"), 1929 *

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

, featuring Art Lund - Columbia 36988, 1946 (B-side was "Rattle and Roll")

LP

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

- ''

Starring Jo Stafford ''Starring Jo Stafford'' is a 1953 album by Jo Stafford, with Paul Weston and His Orchestra accompaniment by The Starlighters and The Pied Pipers. The album was re-released in 1997 on a CD along with '' Autumn in New York'' by EMI. Track listin ...

'', 1953 *

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

- ''Dave Brubeck at Storyville: 1954 / Vol. 1'', 1954 *

Toots Thielemans Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for his chromatic harmonica playing, as well as his guitar and whistl ...

- ''The Sound: The Amazing Jean "Toots" Thielemans'', 1955 *

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

- ''Split Kick'', 1955 *

Tal Farlow Talmage Holt Farlow (June 7, 1921 – July 25, 1998) was an American jazz guitarist. He was nicknamed "Octopus" because of how his large, quick hands spread over the fretboard. As Steve Rochinski notes, "Of all the guitarists to emerge in th ...

- ''A Recital by Tal Farlow'', 1955 *

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

- ''

Nostalgic Memories Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", a Homeric word, ...

'', recorded 1949–51, released on LP, 1956 (re-issued on CD in 2009 as '' Debut: The Clef/Mercury Duo Recordings 1949-1951'') *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

- ''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the ...

'', 1957 (reissued on LP in 1964 as ''Songs Everybody Knows'', and on CD in 1998 in ''Some Fine Old Chestnuts and New Tricks'', and in 2009 in ''The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings: 1954-56'') *

Ted Heath and His Music George Edward Heath (30 March 1902 – 18 November 1969) was a British musician and big band leader. Heath led what is widely considered Britain's greatest post-war big band, recording more than 100 albums, which sold over 20 million copies. Th ...

- ''Ted Heath's First American Tour'', 1957 *

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Biography Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...

- ''Keeping Up With the Joneses: featuring The Jones Brothers - playing the music of Thad Jones and Isham Jones'', 1958, with brothers

Thad Thad is a masculine given name, often a short form (hypocorism) of Thaddeus. It may refer to: *Thad Allen (born 1949), United States Coast Guard admiral * Thad Altman (born 1955), American politician * Thad Balkman (born 1971), American politician ...

Hank Hank is a male given name. It may have been inspired by the Dutch name Henk,The Origins of 10 Nicknam ...

and

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...

, as well as bassist Eddie Jones (unrelated) (re-issued in 1999 by

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

as ''Keeping Up With the Joneses'') *The

Al Cohn Al Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist Zo ...

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

Quintet - ''You 'n Me'', 1960 (re-issued by

Polygram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

in 1981, and on CD by

in 2002) *

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inter ...

- '' The Modern Sound of Betty Carter'', recorded August 19, 1960, released 1961 (re-issued in 1976 on

Impulse Records Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positi ...

as part of the 2-record set, ''What a Little Moonlight Can Do'', and in 1992 by GRP as part of the CD ''I Can't Help It'', and in 2012 by American Jazz Classics as part of the CD, ''The Modern Sound of Betty Carter / ''Out There'') *

The Hi-Lo's The Hi-Lo's were a vocal quartet formed in 1953, who achieved their greatest fame in the late 1950s and 1960s. The group's name is a reference to their extreme vocal and physical ranges (Bob Strasen and Bob Morse were tall, Gene Puerling and Cla ...

- '' This Time It's Love'', 1962 (re-issued in 2003 by

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

as part of the CD ''This Time It's Love - plus 14 Bonus Tracks'') *The

Art Van Damme Art Van Damme (April 9, 1920February 15, 2010) was an American jazz accordionist. Van Damme toured Europe and was popular with jazz enthusiasts in Japan. Van Damme was married, and had three children. After he retired to Roseville, California, ...

Quintet - ''Blue World'', 1970, with

Joe Pass Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Pass is well known for his work stemming from numerous collaborations with pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, an ...

and

Eberhard Weber Eberhard Weber (born 22 January 1940, in Stuttgart, Germany) is a German double bassist and composer. As a bass player, he is known for his highly distinctive tone and phrasing. Weber's compositions blend chamber jazz, European classical music, m ...

(re-issued in 1995 by

MPS Records MPS Records was a German jazz record company and label founded in 1968 by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer. MPS stands for "Musik Produktion Schwarzwald" (Music Production Black Forest). History Originally based in Villingen, MPS was founded as the su ...

as part of the CD ''Two Originals: Keep Going, Blue World'') *Bing Crosby - '' A Southern Memoir'', 1975 (reissued on CD in 2010) *Zoot Sims - ''The Swinger'', 1981 (re-issued on CD by

Pablo Records Pablo Records was a jazz record company and label founded by Norman Granz in 1973, more than a decade after he had sold his earlier catalog (including Verve Records) to MGM Records. Pablo initially featured recordings by acts that Granz managed: ...

in 1995, and as

streaming audio Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

by Naxos Music Library in 2008, as ''The Swingers'')"The Swingers"
WorldCat. Retrieved 2013-02-16.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:On the Alamo 1922 songs Songs with music by Isham Jones Bing Crosby songs Jo Stafford songs